Frank O'Bannon (bust) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Frank O'Bannon is a public artwork by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

artist Kenneth G. Ryden, located in the Indiana Statehouse rotunda in Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. The 700 pound bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

bust

Bust (sculpture)

A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...

was commissioned by the state to honor the memory of Indiana's 47th Governor, Frank O'Bannon

Frank O'Bannon

Frank Lewis O'Bannon was an American politician who was the 47th Governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death in 2003.-Background:...

. The piece was cast at the Anderson University

Anderson University (Indiana)

Anderson University is an accredited private Christian liberal arts university in Anderson, Indiana. The college is affiliated with the Church of God . Anderson University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, and the society. In 2010, U.S...

Art Foundry

Foundry

A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...

in 2005 and presented to the state in February 2006.

Description

The 700 pound bust is made entirely of bronze. Its full height is thirty-six inches. The base of the piece takes up a 14.5" x 9.5" footprint. At the Governor's shoulders, the bust's widest point, the work is 17 inches. The piece is in the likeness of the late Frank O'Bannon, from chest up, wearing a dress shirt and tie. At the request of Judy O'Bannon, the Governor's wife, the artist specifically included O'Bannon's true-to-life crooked nose and his broad smile.

Historical information

After O'Bannon's death in 2003, the Indiana State Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

formed the Frank O'Bannon Memorial Commission to create a bust to honor the memory of the late governor. The committee was co-chaired by Senator James Merritt and Representative Paul Robertson. Kenneth G. Ryden was chosen from a total of six artists to create the memorial. The choice was based on recommendations of artists from the Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana Historical Society

Indiana Historical Society

The Indiana Historical Society is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". Housed within the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, it is located at 450 West Ohio St...

. The artist was paid $20,000 in private funds for the work. The bronze bust was cast at the Anderson University Art Foundry in December 2005. The completed work was unveiled in the Statehouse February 13, 2006. In 2009, the creative process behind the making of this bust, as well as a memorial statue in O'Bannon's hometown, was featured in an Indianapolis Public Television special presentation Cast in Bronze.

Location history

Frank O'Bannon can be found on the third floor of the Indiana Statehouse. It sits across from the entrance to the Senate chambers where Frank O'Bannon served as both state senator and Lieutenant Governor. At the recommendation of The Commission to Recommend a State House Memorial for Governor O'Bannon, this bust replaced that of Calvin Fletcher, which was moved to the fourth floor of the Indiana Statehouse.

Artist

Kenneth G. Ryden was born in Chicago and lives in Yorktown, Indiana

Yorktown, Indiana

Yorktown is a town in Mount Pleasant Township, Delaware County, Indiana, United States. The population was 9,405 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Muncie, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

. The artist works primarily in bronze, creating both abstract and figural sculptures using the lost-wax casting technique. On sculpting people, Ryden says, "I use the human form as a vehicle for the communication I am trying to establish." Ryden has created a number of memorial statues and busts including those honoring pitcher Carl Erskine

Carl Erskine

Carl Daniel Erskine is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959...

and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...

Work found in Anderson, Indiana

Anderson, Indiana

Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison county. Anderson is the headquarters of the Church of God and home of Anderson University, which is...

includes Crucible of Peace, The Beloved, and The Graces. The artist also has done outdoor sculpture work in Springfield, Illinois

Springfield, Illinois

Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...

and other cities around the Midwest

Midwestern United States

The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....

The artist and the memorial

At the time of commission, Ryden was artist-in-residence at Anderson University. Speaking of O'Bannon, the artist has said that he was impressed by the late governor's down-to-earth personality and hoped this memorial would inspire visitors to the Statehouse to learn more about O'Bannon. "I felt he made the high office of governor seem accessible. My big challenge is to show this in the work that I do." The artist gathered many photographs and worked closely with O'Bannon's wife and daughter to achieve this. At the official unveiling ceremony, Ryden dedicated the work to the O'Bannon family and to the state.

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